worried about all the polls showing him losing big time to barack obama because, he says, this early in the game, polls go up and polls go down. well, there are only two things wrong with that, mr. romney is not early in the game anymore and two all your polls are going down, down, down. and you're in big trouble. we'll take a look at the polls and a whole lot more here on the "full court press." first, let's start out with the latest today's current news update, lisa ferguson standing by in los angeles. good morning lisa. >> hey bill. good morning everyone. it is a pretty light day on the campaign trail for president obama. he has just one event in virginia beach. mitt romney though is sticking to his new campaign strategy of getting himself out there as much as possible. he is also in virginia this morning speaking at the exact same time as the president but from springfield. he then heads to a fund-raiser in d.c. and another event in

pennsylvania. romney is coming off three separate interviews last night with three separate television stations. that all went in three very different direction. romney talked everything from character assassination to his massachusetts healthcare reform and even though he is down about 9 points in the polls he still thinks he can take ohio. >> i need to win ohio. i'm planning on winning ohio. we're excited about our prospects here because i think the people of ohio know that the path we're on is just not the right course for creating the jobs and the rising incomes people deserve. >> romney think the debate next week could be a turning point in the race but that depends on who you talk to. politico is calling the denver do or die for romney but radio talk show host patrick dorenson says unless someone says something really stupid, it is political fodder. we'll leave it up to you on whether anyone might say something really stupid. "the washington post" quoting an

a. p. reporter saying they had to impose a fact-checking limit on michele bachmann because she was wrong so often. back with more bill press after the break. stay with us. decide the election. current tv presents coverage of the presidential debate. with unrivaled analysis and commentary. >> you're going to hear that (vo) the only network with real-time reaction straight from the campaigns and from viewers like you. >>now that's politically direct.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 40 days to go now until this election is all over. and we got a deal for the referees and the nfl! how about it! they finally had to get together and resolve this damn thing. fans wouldn't take it any longer. what do you say?

good to see you people. here on this thursday, september 27. welcome to the "full court press." here on current tv for the next three hours. on your local progressive talk radio show for the next three hours on sirius x.m. this hour only. good to have you with us wherever you happen to be in this great country of ours. we're coming to you live coast-to-coast from our nation's capital, washington, d.c. where you'll find us right in the heart of the action, right here on capitol hill, just down the street from the united states capitol building, in the shadow of the capitol dome. good to see you today. you're looking good. and i know you're ready to jump into the big stories of the day. we'll give you a chance to do so. and love to hear from you at -- both on politics and on football and anything else at 1-866-55-press. that is our toll free number. team press standing by to help you out. peter ogborn and dan henning and cyprian bowlding. hello, guys.

everything good? >> yes indeed. >> good morning. >> bill: we're here. ready to serve. good enough. ohio yesterday rockin' and rollin' with two presidential candidates both mitt romney on his second day in ohio. president obama going out to ohio. where he now has the president a 10-point lead over mitt romney. no republican presidential -- i know you've heard that a thousand times worth repeating no republican presidential candidate has ever won the presidency without winning ohio. and without winning ohio, it would be very, very tough for mitt romney to get where he's gotta get in terms of electoral votes. so you're going to continue to see both candidates focus on ohio. president obama has done so. his rescue of the auto industry has helped him a lot in ohio. he was at bowling green university yesterday. introduced by a student who was scheduled to introduce the president. then went out and played

ultimate frisbee yesterday morning and broke his wrist. >> what is ultimate frisbee exactly? >> bill: haven't you seen it? >> you don't know what alternate frisbee is. >> i know what frisbee golf is. is that alternate frisbee? >> yeah, yeah. >> bill: i've seen it. >> okay, i know what it is. >> it is like football. you take three steps. >> i understand now. >> bill: he was playing alternate frisbee fell, broke his wrist but he put off his visit to the hospital so he could still introduce the president! >> if seth can come up here with a broken wrist, then there is not a student here who cannot get registered and make sure they go to vote! [ cheering ] >> bill: good point and the president repeated a point there at bowling green that he's made several times. as we wind down the war in iraq and in -- wars in iraq and afghanistan, let's bring the money home and put it to work

here in the united states. >> obama: after a decade of war it's time to do some nation building right here at home. [ cheering ] >> bill: yes yes, yes indeed. so big line-up today. major garrett from the "national journal" will be here as a "friend of bill." we'll be joined by dave zirin sports editor for the nation to take a look at the nfl deal and we'll go out on the campaign trail with ginger gibson from politico who's been following -- moving around with romney and ryan in ohio. but first... >> this is the "full court press." >> bill, have you downloaded angry birds to your new iphone? >> bill: no, i haven't. i don't know whether it is automatic. >> the most popular and financial successful noble game in history is now getting a spin-off. folks behind angry birds are giving the enemy pigs from that game their own space called bad

piggies, the chubby green pigs, the enemies of the birds will get their own game. "daily beast" reminds us that -- >> bill: they make that funny noise. >> angry birds brought in over $100 million from the game, merchandising, games and the game only costs $140,000 to make. >> bill: oh, my gosh. there are so many variations, the jungle and the beach and -- >> they've got the seasons. they've got -- but let me tell you how brilliant they are. i knew about this story weeks ago because my kids play angry birds and they started astizing that a new -- advertising that a new game is coming within the game. i learned it from my kids. there's a new thing coming out called bad piggies. they knew all about it. i had no idea. >> bill: absolutely brilliant. >> crooner andy williams went up moon river for the final time. >> oh, come on!

really? is that really how you're getting into this? >> the 84-year-old entertainer passed away after battling cancer according to abc news. he made it big with appearances on "the tonight show" back in the 1950s and hosted his own andy williams show and many holiday staples earned five grammy nominations and numerous gold and platinum albums. >> bill: never one of my favorite performers but one of the old time crooners, the perry como andy williams. >> i know it is officially christmas when i hear andy am whats "it's the most wonderful time of the year." that's the one thing i know and love. >> bill: you'll still hear it. >> a school founded by thomas jefferson has been named the top party school in the country by playboy. university of virginia -- >> bill: whoa! >> the top spot on the poll. the magazine says the school knows a thing or two about raising a glass but uva not happy with that honor. they immediately released a

statement yesterday -- far more important that they be known for their academic achievement not their party atmosphere. also on the playboy party list, usc and the universities of florida, texas and wisconsin. >> bill: laura ingraham went to the university of virginia. a party animal. this proves it. there it is. all right. 13 minutes after the hour now. yes, indeed. you know, we have a deal. how about it. when they elect a new pope, they said -- now whatever. the pressure, the reaction to monday night's call, we talked about this at the start of the call yesterday between the packers and the seahawks. the reaction was so intense the anger was so red hot that it forced the nfl owners to come to the table with the professional refs. they met 17 hours on tuesday.

they went way into the night last night. and this morning it is reported that they do have a deal. it is all over. the refs, the real refs could be back in the game as early as tonight. certainly they'll all be there by this weekend. it's a deal that still now has to go out to the membership of the professional refs for approval. adam sheffner from espn tells us what's next. >> once the nfl and the nfl ra come to an agreement, the membership would have to approve it. it has to go to the executive committee of that association first and then the members have to vote on it in person. they'll be gathering in dallas. from dallas, they then would go on to their respective sites to work the games on sunday. >> bill: they know they've gotta move. they're boogying to get back to work and they're doing it. there is a game tonight peter i forget who plays tonight. they're expected to have professional refs there for sure and then by this weekend

they'll all be back. they know they can't wait. i heard some commentators last night say they may have to wait until week number five. no, they're not going to wait until week number five. there were two issues really on the table. one of them was that the owners wanted a bench a replacement -- a bench that they could draw from to replace some of the refs that they don't think are performing well. that issue was resolved easily. there will be a bench. they will be trained. they will be ready to move in. there will be a pool they can pick from which i think is important. and on the issue of the pensions again, the owners wanted to take the pensions away from the refs and force them into a 401(k) because the pension of course, is defined guaranteed, the 401(k) floats up and down with the market. they could lose everything like most of us did in 2008 with another crash. that was resolved. so far the deal hasn't been

publicly announced. they reached an agreement that the refs who are now on the job will be able to keep their pensions for at least eight years and then they phase into a 401(k) and new people who come in would have a 401(k). how it happened, how did they get together, andrew brant from espn tells us. >> this became the story in the country in the middle of a presidential race. the nfl reacted to that. compromise finally happened. could have happened weeks ago. >> bill: could have happened weeks ago. should have happened weeks ago. once the nfl owners said no, we're going to lock out the professional refs and they turned to the division i college refs to take over who might have been able to take over the division i refs said uh-huh. we're in solidarity with our colleagues who are the professional refs. then the owners were forceded to go down to the lingerie league and division iii and high school football refs or junior college refs. you knew it was going to be a

disaster as dave zirin told us a couple of days ago. sports editor for the "nation" magazine. and indeed, it was. andrew brant i also think makes a good point about this is going to be unusual. maybe for the first time ever when the refs take the field they're going to get a huge, huge wonderful wonderful welcome but it won't last long. >> even get standing ovations when they come into the stadiums starting this week. it won't last. we'll be back to criticizing the real referees just like we criticized the replacements. >> bill: that is true. that is true. because if football is america's favorite sport you know, a challenging and criticizing and booing the refs is the second favorite sport. but you know, there is an important -- so it is good they were able to reach a deal. i think it is instructive. i would hope maybe members of congress might pay attention that it is possible to get things done. to sit down across the table and resolve issues and compromise.

so this is good news for players. it is good news for fans especially. but there is an important lesson here. that i hope will not be lost on the american public. and love your comments about this at 1-866-55-press. i think what this shows is when you've got a situation where -- and it doesn't matter whether it is autoworkers or professional refs or steelworkers or whatever, you know, this idea of republicans declaring war on labor unions, this idea of people like scott walker and chris christie and rick scott down in florida and john kasich in ohio going after the public employee union who tried to break them to think they could bring in replacements who could do the job just as well, i think

we learned a lesson here. scott walker came out and said we've gotta bring the real refs back, the union refs back. paul ryan said we have to bring the union refs back. they have learned a lesson i hope everybody has learned a lesson. it doesn't matter whether you're talking about autoworkers or ironworkers or steelworkers or air-traffic controllers or truck drivers or police officers or firefighters or teachers or professional referees. a scab cannot do the job as well as a good, trained union worker. and we learned that in this little episode here. with the nfl. may that lesson ever be learned and people start respecting the work that union workers do and stop trying to bust the unions. 1-866-55-press. the toll free number. join the conversation. start the conversation here this morning on the "full court press." 1-866-55-press.

we'll be right back. let's talk. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show," live on your radio and on current tv. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. >>only on current tv.

you disgust me. prove it. enough is enough. d-con baits are specially formulated to kill in one feeding. guaranteed. d-con. get out. (vo) cenk uygur is many things. >>oh really? >>tax cuts don't create jobs. the golden years as the conservatives call them, we had the highest tax rates, and the highest amount of growth, and the highest amount of jobs. those are facts.

>>"if you ever raise taxes on the rich, you're going to destroy our economy." not true! >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey, it is 24 minutes after the hour. talking about jeb bush yesterday >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. 24 minutes after the hour. football fans, sport fans, relax. nfl owners did apparently bow to

pressure and realized they needed to get this damn thing over with and they sent roger goodell in and said fix it, fix it. meeting until late last night. "the washington post" and "new york times" and espn reporting that the outline of a deal is reached now it has to be approved by the nfra and the nfl owners both. but that should happen in order to get professional refs back as early as tonight. what did we learn from all of this? steve is down in little rock, arkansas. thanks for joining us. what do you say? >> caller: thank you bill. i say that i'm a high school baseball umpire. i can't imagine getting a phone call in the middle of the summer and say hey how about working the red sox and yankees. it is just -- the higher up you go in officiating and a lot of people, fans especially don't appreciate what it takes to become an official and the guys

in the nfl the nba, the nhl they were also locked out now ironically and major league baseball, they're really the best in the world at what they do. being paid to manage millionaire egos or what amounts to just a little bit of money really. what you compare it to, revenue picture of the nfl -- they do a remarkable job. i'm tickled to see a bunch of those guys come back tonight and the rest of the weekend. >> bill: you're absolutely right. there was -- really, the difference in money was minuscule compared to the billions and billions that these owners make off of these teams. and they were kind. trying to hold the professional refs hostage. steve, i gotta tell you i am amazed at the job that umpires do. i could never stand there and

you know, i mean there are some obvious strikes and some obvious balls but if those ones that are on the border line, you know, right on the corner, man, i would not trust myself with a call like that. so i admire the work that you do. even at the high school level. but imagine if you were called up to the big leagues tonight man! >> caller: that's what i'm saying, i have friends who have been aaa minor league umpires and you know, guys who have worked in the big leagues but make the living getting strikes out and figuring out exactly where the umpire was going to call that strike. i wanted to make a comment on your point about romney and ryan and scott walker and -- they won't learn anything, bill. >> bill: yeah. >> caller: in my opinion at least, they live on the idea

that -- and paul ryan's best example of this. this is a guy who voted for -- has voted for medicare part d and it was a good thing to do but not in the way it was done. they're not going to -- they're going to come out and say yeah, we need of need these workers especially ryan and walker. walker got screwed on that call the other night. >> bill: sorry i have to run along. we're out of time here but i'm afraid you're right. i would hope, i would hope that scott walker and paul ryan would learn the big lesson here. that this -- what we see and hear about replacements not being able to do the work doesn't just apply to professional refs. but you know, that's probably a

snowball's chance in hell that they would learn that. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." (vo) what is said here could decide the election. current tv presents coverage of the presidential debate. with unrivaled analysis and commentary. >> you're going to hear that used as a major talking point. (vo) the only network with real-time reaction straight from the campaigns and from viewers like you. >>now that's politically direct.

[ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. you got it. 33 minutes after the hour now. here the "full court press" on thursday thursday september 27. welcome, everybody. good to see you. we've been talking about the nfl. they reached a deal with the professional refs. professional refs back in the game as early as tonight. a lot of other stuff to talk about.

we'll get back to your calls in just a second. but first here is a chilling story. out of forbes.com about an i.r.s. employee allegedly using information gleaned from taxpayer returns to apply for credit cards for herself and multiple -- in mult inthe states. on one occasion, she even used official i.r.s. letter head to get more information about a victim. there you go. another case of -- attempted identity theft. more evidence that you need to do something to protect yourself against it. what i've done is sign up for life lock ultimate. encourage you to do the same. it is most comprehensive i.d. theft protection out there. includes keeping track of your bank account but of course, life lock can't protect you or your bank account if you're not a member. call now. and mention press 60 and you'll get six 60-risk free days of ultimate life lock protection.

if you're not happy give them another call within 60 days, cancel. they'll give you a full refund. see life lock.com for full details and give them a call at 1-866-55-press. -- at 1-800-356-5967. well we often bitch about the airlines. news today to make us maybe bitch even more. i try not to check a bag. i have gone... at least a week on the west coast maybe ten days without checking a bag. >> ten days is impressive. ten days is impressive to go out of town. >> bill: you figure out what you're going to need and what you're not going to need. >> yeah, good for you. >> bill: i got a little carry-on bag. and i do it -- one to save time

but also to save money, all right? if i do fly where i have to check a bag i'll try to fly southwest airlines. southwest doesn't charge for bags. it is one of the advantages of flying southwest. they have their disadvantages too but they're a good airline. but here's the point. reporter this morning that u.s. airlines in the first six months of 2012 collected just for bag fees alone we're not talking ticket prices, anything else right not talking snacks, not talking bathroom fees, bag fees alone $1.6 billion. $1.7 billion. >> that number blew my mind. $1.7 billion because it is usually $25 for the first bag. 35 for the second bag. and it keeps going up and up and

up. they keep increasing it. the big -- the number one -- by the way that's more than airlines have ever collected in baggage fees. the number one is delta airlines. the airline collecting the most baggage fees, $430 million from january to june. this is keeping the airlines afloat right? i guess afloat is not the right word for the airlines. up in the air. keeping them flying. >> right. bull but it seems to me they're making a profit on baggage fees alone. >> they have to be. they have to be. >> bill: united airlines was second to delta with $351 million in bag fees. and the 15 largest carriers collected a combined $932 million in the second quarter alone. so altogether, $1.7 billion.

but get this. this is the one that really pisses me off. the airlines also collected an additional $1.3 billion in fees, another b, b dollars in fees for canceling or changing a reservation. that's $1.3 billion in the first six months of the year. that's what drives me crazy. you know, you make a reservation for dinner in a restaurant and you call them and say gosh, you know we can't make 7:00. can you take us at 8:00 or can you take us at 7:30. sure. be glad to accommodate you. done right? you make a reservation in a hotel and say hey, we were going to stay three nights, you know what? we gotta leave early so we're just going to have to make that two nights instead of three or something has come up and we're not going to be able to make the trip. we'll reschedule.

for now we have to cancel. fine it's done. with an airline -- and it should be done that way because you didn't get the table or that room or you didn't use that room but with an airline it doesn't matter. you don't fly you don't get the seat you don't take the trip, you still have to pay. it is usually $150 to make any change in a reservation. you're paying $150 for nothing! nothing, nothing! i can't believe they get away with it. >> no one has ever explained to me why they can get away with that. okay, so at a hotel you make a reservation, they reserve a room for you but you can cancel the hotel. they say usually within 24 hours. >> bill: they reserve a seat for you. >> so there's no logic based in it. you tell them six months before the fly they still charge you. >> bill: they'll sell it to somebody else. >> of course they will. >> bill: the problem is i

never know where to go with these complaints about the airlines because you go to the airlines, you're wasting your time. and there's no law that says the airlines can't do this. i'm not sure i want a law to say the airlines can do this. i just wish there was some sort of consumer police. maybe this new consumer protection finance bureau could get into this. >> not a bad idea. >> bill: maybe elizabeth warren! when she's in the united states senate will be able to do something about this. >> maybe other airlines can take a look at what southwest is doing and like virgin america, i know they don't fly that many places but they don't charge for checked bags. >> bill: somewhere there ought to be a rule that if you don't get something for that dollar, then you don't have to pay that dollar. and you don't get anything for that $150 that you're paying. you know. it's -- well, we're sticking with the airlines. but the other thing that really

bugs me is with the atm machines now, when you use an atm that's not your bank. they charge you $3. i've seen more than $3 for those fees. so maybe we'll have to start here on the "full court press." a consumer hot line. >> oh, no. >> consumer crusaders. >> bill: consumer bitch line. i want to start with the airlines and get the story out there because if you think you're getting screwed by the airlines, not only is it just a pain in the ass to fly anymore because of security and the long lines and all of that stuff but if you think you're getting ripped off by the airlines, you are right! $1.3 billion so far this year in cancellation fees and $1.7 billion in bag fees. yes. welcome to the friendly skies. >> announcer: this is the "bill

press show." thanks, karl . see you soon. >> you got it. >> there is alternates of buzz, as car indicated up in providence, rhode island. a lot of buzz where mitt romney dose of politics from a fresh perspective. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. >>only on current tv.

>>i jump out of my skin at people when i'm upset. do you share the sense of outrage that they're doing this, this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>i think that's an understatement, eliot. u>> i'm not prone tot. understatement, so explain to me why that is. i think the mob learned from wall st., not vice versa.

>> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 15 minutes before the top of the hour on thursday, september 27. don't forget folks, you want to know the inside of campaign of negative ads against president obama, i've got it all in my latest book, "the obama hate machine." fueled by the koch brothers money. paperback is out now in your local bookstore or you can get a

copy here if you want a signed copy, go to our web site at billpressshow.com. tell us how you want it sign and we'll do it. i signed a pile of them yesterday. they're in the mail today. one could be yours and if you haven't already done so, again the web site, billpressshow.com. tell us how you want it signed, we'll get it out to you right away. mitt romney in ohio for the last two days with paul ryan. president obama in ohio yesterday. ginger gibson, national political reporter for politico was in ohio with the romney campaign. she's back in d.c. this morning joining us on our news line. hi, ginger good to talk to you. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> bill: so presidential candidate mitt romney in ohio yesterday gets news that in the latest "new york times" cbs poll he is 10 points behind in ohio. here is -- i'm sure you heard it when you were out there. mitt romney's official response.

>> romney: well, i'm very pleased with some polls less so with other polls but at this point, polls go up, polls go down. >> bill: what were you hearing from the romney campaign people? >> romney's campaign is picking up the new sort of republican line that we're hearing this year at a lot of the -- that a lot of the polls are being skewed. they're arguing the point that too many democrats are being included in the sample but they contend their internals aren't as bad as the public polls. they won't say how bad or if they're bad. but they -- it's not over. he's got 40 days until the election to make the case to be on the ground in the swing states. >> bill: isn't it true though that when a candidate is down in the polls they always say polls don't matter. polls go up, polls go down. they dismiss them and yet when they're ahead, they say this

shows we're winning. our strategy is working right? >> anyone who's down in the polls are going to tell us polls don't matter. anyone up is going to say polls don't matter. those of us who read polls are going to sit here and say well, the polls say -- all the way until we stop polling i suppose. >> bill: did you get any hint of gloom or doom or despair? >> there is some noted awareness is probably the best word that the polls are not good. i wouldn't say doom and gloom yet. but what appears to be an awareness, polls -- they have a lot of room to make up and attempt to sort of spin these negative numbers in a way that makes romney look better which is a hard feat. and so there is an awareness that things are starting to not look so sunny. >> bill: and we keep hearing

that well, this week is a new approach right? this week, we're going to take a new tack, a new direction. and they did come out with a new ad this week with romney speaking directly into the camera. is that an attempt to kind of regain some momentum here? >> we always know that when the candidate sits down and looks at the camera and talks directly to the voter -- to have a serious moment, a moment that really resonates, you don't get a lot of those moments. when you use it, you have to do so wisely. changing his message a little. he was on the stump in ohio and we heard him talking about the healthcare act which he hasn't talked in great length about before. >> bill: not at all. >> he gets on the stump and he says i'm going to repeal it and everyone cheers and then he moves on. yesterday we heard him talking

about what he thinks the law does. he puts a doctrine between the government and it restricts your ability to make your medical decisions which is something he hasn't talked about in a long time. we heard him talk about the importance of god and other things that he hasn't talked about on the stump in a long time. brought his debt clock back to the stage which had been gone all summer. so there was an attempt to change things. nothing really new but a return to the message he was using when he was doing better in the polls. >> bill: and we saw -- we're talking to ginger gibson, national political reporter for politico who has been on the road with the romney/ryan team. i wanted to ask you about the two of them were together in ohio. how did they play as a team? >> they do really well as a team. paul ryan is better on the stump than mitt romney. he's able to get the crowd more

excited. and when paul ryan warms up a crowd for mitt romney, it often means that the crowd is more excited, more amped up going into romney's speech and romney feeds off of that. he gets more excited when the crowd is more excited. >> bill: yeah. the warm-up act often overshadowing the main act. romney said something yesterday which raised a lot of eyebrows. he was talking about -- i want to play the clip for you and for our audience. he was -- he was talking about his sort of mantra of cutting taxes, right. cutting taxes for everybody. or -- but he said don't expect too much of a tax cut. here is mitt romney yesterday. >> romney: so our individual income taxes are ones i want to reform, make it simpler. i want to bring the rates down but don't be expecting a huge cut in taxes because i'm also going to issue exemptions.

>> bill: that was kind of an ad-lib but if you were expecting a big tax cut from me, don't. was he off message there or what was going on? >> he's moved around on that a little bit. and what he's trying to say is i'm not going to cut taxes for the rich. i'm going to reform the tax code. i'm going to come in and make a lot of changes so that everyone's paying the same amount that should be and so you shouldn't expect a big tax cut. i'm going to cut the rate. i'm also going to cut the loopholes. part of his speech -- those events -- however, he made that remark at a rally which is not an audience of people who were all high income. he's going to change the code.

but he has in the past, said as well he's going to cut taxes for people in middle to lower income brackets. >> bill: yeah. the ryan budget which romney has endorsed cuts the top rate from 35% down to 25%. they say they'll make up for the lost revenue by closing the loopholes but they haven't identified which loopholes they would close. >> we don't know what kind of loopholes he would close. we don't know what type time line the loopholes would be on. so we talk about the tax code in really broad terms and with a lot of vagueness because we don't know. >> bill: it is murky at best. hey, ginger, welcome back. get some rest. i know they'll be sending you out on the road pretty soon. ginger gibson, always good to you have here with us on the "full court press." national political reporter for politico at politico.com.

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." we need more teachers, not fewer teachers and more cops and more firefighters that support our >>and now to my point. that is a whole bunch of bunk! the powerful my steal an election but they cannot steal democracy. of sununu, you're wrong. mitt romney, you're wrong. we need more teachers, not fewer teachers and more cops and more firefighters that support our

>> announcer: taking your e-mails on any topic at any show." live on your radio and current >> announcer: taking your e-mails on any topic at any time, this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: hey i like this on the nfl lockout. nick says still put it in terms that everybody can understand. who do you want building your car, teaching your children, putting out the fire in your house and forcing law & order

roofing your house or doing your plumbing? regular referees or replacement referees? i love that! people can understand that. but ken just to show you that the "the obama hate machine" continues to live, this e-mail from ken. everything liberal has been tried and does not work. obama was raised by card carrying communists. he associates with communist terrorists and bomb throwers. he gave up his law license rather than be indicted. what? he is using a dead man's social security card. he can't provide a legal birth certificate. mitt romney is clean. no negatives except the republican party. unbelievable. you know what? here's a zany, insane, like 1% of americans. who believe that kind of stuff

and ken, you are part of the 1%. idiot. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." are they contagious? i don't think so. [ male announcer ] contract the rainbow! taste the rainbow! then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...allstate safe driving bonus check? what is that? so weird, right? my agent, tom, said... [ voice of dennis ] ...only allstate sends you a bonus check for every six months you're accident-free... ...but i'm a woman. maybe it's a misprint. does it look like a misprint? ok. what i was trying... [ voice of dennis ] silence. ♪ ♪ ask an allstate agent about the safe driving bonus check.

are you in good hands? [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: good morning everybody. welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv. good to have you with us this morning. as we tackle the big stories of the day. here in our nation's capital around the country and around the globe. and give you a chance to get involved in the conversation. tell us what you think about what's going on by giving us a call at 1-866-55-press. good to see you today. and here's the good news.

no more disaster calls like monday night's football game with the packers versus the seahawks. the nfl owners and the professional refs have reached a deal and regular refs could be back on the job as early as tonight. it does make you think doesn't it, if the nfl owners and the refs can get together and compromise and resolve their issues why can't republicans and democrats in congress do the same thing? we'll mull that around and a whole lot more here on today's "full court press." first, the latest, today's current news update from lisa ferguson in los angeles. hi lisa, good morning. >> hey bill. good morning everyone. mitt romney seems headaches he's ready to soften up on his 47% remark. yesterday, romney came out with a new ad speaking cell to the camera and trying to show concern for middle class americans. starting friday, that is the only ad the camp will run in

nine swing states. but the democratic national committee is out with its own response. it uses clips from romney's original ad and is called those people. >> president obama and i both care about poor and middle class families. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor. >> the difference is my policies will make things better for them. >> and so my job is to not worry about those people. i'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility for their lives. >> romney's coming underfire for his newly-released tax returns. for one, he forwent certain deductions to keep his rate up to 14%. he traded in foreign currency at the at the same time money fears hit european banks. now think progress points out romney's rate is the lowest of any president since richard nixon. paul ryan is telling local cincinnati news it is okay because the money creates jobs but there's little evidence that it does anything for job creation. politico is pointing out some sketchy budget math. in paul ryan's plan.

he quietly cut half a percent from medicare's annual growth rate and while that doesn't sound like much, without that money, the house budget plan would be in the red. back with more bill. stay with us. (vo) what is said here could decide the election. current tv presents coverage of the presidential debate. with unrivaled analysis and commentary. >> you're going to hear that used as a major talking point. (vo) the only network with real-time reaction straight from the campaigns and from viewers like you. >>now that's politically direct.

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>> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 40 days to go now. that's all. until november 6th. and we have a deal between nfl and the professional refs. what do you say? we're going to cover politics and football here on the "full court press." welcome, welcome. it's thursday, september 27. great to see you today. thank you for being part of the program. look forward to taking your

calls at 1-866-55-press. coming to you live from our nation's capital and bring you up to date on the news of the day wherever it's happening here in washington d.c. not much news out of washington these days. around the country around the globe, we've got it covered with the help this hour of major garrett from "national journal," a "friend of bill" for the whole hour with us today. hello, major. >> good morning. great to be with you. >> bill: haven't been together since charlotte and the democratic national convention. >> i'm feeling a bit more chipper than i did that morning. >> you don't say! [ laughter ] >> we were all a little tired that morning. >> bill: you should talk. we were the ones that were on the line. >> i know. i had to watch you. >> exhausting. >> bill: we were not at our best form. >> let's say the synapses that morning were a little -- out of kilter. >> bill: they weren't quite clicking, were they?

>> i can remember there thinking i know i'm supposed to be talking right now why aren't words coming out of my mouth. >> people thought they were watching an episode of the walking dead when they tuned into the show. >> bill: our regular team is here. peter ogborn and dan henning. >> good morning. >> bill: cyprian bowlding, we never hear from. so major, one of the strangest things that came out of the campaign came this week when first of all, there was some news, not to make light of it, that there is a problem on mrs. romney's plane. it filled with smoke. fortunately it was not more serious than it was. they were able to land the plane and no problems. mitt romney's response to it was rather curious. here he is. >> romney: i don't think she knows just how worried some of us were. when you have a fire in an aircraft, there's no place to go exactly. and you can't find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get

in the aircraft because the windows don't open. i don't know why they don't do that. >> why. >> i'm not an expert in this field but i was a police reporter for six years in the early part of my career. oxygen is not what you want to bring to a fire scene generally. what happens when firefighters go -- one of the things if you break in windows or things, more oxygen rushes in. that fuels -- that can fuel a fire. and also at 30,000 feet. >> there's that. >> why can't we roll the windows down? the rambler, you could roll the windows down. >> bill: here's the deal. are you not an expert in this. neither am i. we found one yesterday. magnus ogborn. peter's son. he's 4 years old. daddy asks him what would happen. here it is. >> if you were on an airplane that was flying and you opened

up the window, what would happen? >> i would fly out. >> what would happen to the airplane? >> the plane would go up and down and it would go too low and it would crash. >> that's right. >> magnus. >> our aeronautics expert. >> bill: open the window, i fly out. i'm sucked out of it. >> i'm thrilled to announce the candidacy of magnus ogborn for president. he can answer that question. >> i know that magnus has watched goldfinger because that's what james bond said. [ laughter ] props to peter early on with the james bond. i'm digging that. >> bill: we got it covered. we got the whole field covered. i told you. with major garrett today. we'll be joined by dave zirin sports editor for the "nation" magazine a little bit later in this hour and then next hour, arthur delaney from "huffington post" will be along. but first --

>> this is the "full court press." >> other headlines making news on this thursday, both president obama and mitt romney have been campaigning with celebrities. they have nice things to say about their endorsers but mitt romney's comment about jack nicklaus be a little over the top appearing at a rally in ohio, he called the golden bear the greatest athlete of the 20th century. he was widely regarded as the most accomplished golfer of all time. he has won 18 major championships but there is a debate if that's the greatest athlete or not. >> no, he's not. there isn't any debate. >> no, there's no debate. >> fantastic golfer. >> bill: we could spend the next hour talking about who might be. >> i can name 50 junior college basketball players who are better athletes than jack nicklaus. >> washington nationals outfielder bryce harper joined an elite club last night. the 19-year-old became the second teenager in baseball history to hit 20 home runs in a

season. the nationals beat the phillies 8-4. the nats are already guaranteed a playoff spot along with san francisco, cincinnati and atlanta. no teams in the american league have clinched a spot yet. top hunters are yankees orioles, tigers, white sox rangers and athletics. somehow, the padres not on that list. >> the padries have played much better baseball since the all-star break. we're moving in the right direction. >> it's true what they say. it only matters what happens in the last four weeks of the season. >> and who was the teenager? with more home runs than bryce harper? >> i have it in front of me. do you know? >> tony conigley arrow with 24. >> nice call! >> and previously, bryce harper was tied with mel ott. >> i did know that. >> joey chestnut has to be upset about this one. major league eating has suspended all bacon eating contests because of the predicted global pork shortage

that would happen over the next year because of this year's drought. "the huffington post" telling us the league cannot in good conscience allow him to eat bacon during a pork shortage because he can eat 20 pounds in 10 minutes. >> bill: this is great. they're getting some ethical standard? for stuffing food in your mouth at a food contest like that? come on. >> what was that poundage? >> 20 pounds in 10 minutes is what they predict joey chestnut can eat in bacon. >> you eat 20 pounds of bacon in a lifetime and it is not good. >> bill: gross gross. major, before we get back into politics -- >> there is one other headline. >> bill: oh. yes. >> i got an e-mail this morning from the obama for president campaign. and it informed me that in this country, in our great land, there are 3,662 people named major who are registered to vote. >> i got that same e-mail.

>> yes. >> what is that all about? >> i have no idea but i did not know -- for most of my life, young and old i thought i was kind of a solitary -- a dude named major. not many of us. not only 3,362 people named major and they're all registered to vote. [ laughter ] >> bill: think of the majors who are not registered to vote. i will probably -- >> i will probably wander the earth searching for them today. >> bill: i didn't get that e-mail. >> there are too many bills. >> bill: wait a minute, peter. i did get one peter. >> bill: you mean about how many people named peter? >> bill: i feel a little discrimination here. >> maybe -- have you signed up for your obama for america

e-mails? >> yes. i can answer that. yes. >> bill: i get so many e-mails from the obama campaign, i must have. yeah right. look, i would answer to bill or billy or william. >> you've answered to worse. >> you'll never answer to billy by the way. if you'll answer to billy i'm going to start calling you billy. >> here's what i need to do. by the end of the day you need to put magnus on the list because i want to find out how many magnuses there are. because i want to find out if there are more magnuses than majors. >> can't be a lot. >> bill: are majors in blue states or red states? >> it doesn't say. it encourages me -- to encourage my friends to register if they haven't. >> bill: since you've already proven you're such a hideous sports nut, your take on the deal the nfl deal? why did it take so long, right? >> before we get to the details

i just wonder if there is anything that you see in the fascination with the story, the underlying contours of it that you find has any rev lens to the presidential campaign or the debates? >> bill: yes. for me. now, i'm a union member, right. i'm a proud union member. i think this really -- when i saw scott ryan and paul ryan -- scott walker and paul ryan both come out and say bring back the real refs meaning the union refs, i think there is a lesson here that this republican war against unions, you know, was wrongly directed and might backfire. in many fields of work, air-traffic controllers autoworkers, i don't want to get on my soapbox the replacements or scabs some might call them, can't do the job that the good union workers can do. that's the last thing -- lasting lesson here. i also think where the billionaire owners are just out of mitt romney's friends who own

the nfl teams are just out of touch again with real people. the fans in this country didn't want to play this charade. >> i can see all of those points. i also see a couple of things that are less specific to union or management. but rules. and playing by the rules and knowing what the rules are. >> bill: good point. >> one of the things you saw and i'm a big nfl football fan this week and the previous two weeks players getting increasingly frustrated because they didn't know what was happening on the field and how to adapt to what appeared to be completely flexible or make up as you go along rules. what are the rules of the road? >> bill: extra time-outs. >> what are the rules of the road. how can i function in this environment which is -- i love when the head of the nfl player's association, smith says, our workplace. interesting and odd workplace but it is their workplace. and injuries are common.

100%. what is safety about? what are the rules and how do you function in that? also, the nfl is an enormously powerful profit gobbling industry. and we love it in this country. we don't hate -- they love -- we don't mind this grand and glorious profit-making institution they've created. we don't begrudge them the money they make. we wish -- to pay as much for our tickets but we go and watch and celebrate all of this. a lot of american life is royaled up into our experience with the nfl. >> bill: as long as it's fair. >> as long as you have a sense of fairness, a sense of directness and i would also say one of the things that the players missed, the fans missed and the head coaches who have literally begun touching referees and getting in their face, screaming about lack of authority. >> bill: right. >> societies want authority figures to assert authority and to assert it clearly and

unambiguously. i think a lot of these undercurrents of the campaign, what is fairness, what are the rules, who are the authority figures, what are they thor tative about. >> bill: when you look at the authority figure and the authority figure doesn't know the rules -- >> then chaos reigns. >> bill: okay. i want to shift quickly to politics because it is so important today. so "the new york times" cbs latest poll yesterday came out and it shows president obama up in ohio 53% to 43%. up in florida 53% to 44%. up in pennsylvania,54% to 42%. he's ahead of women by 21 points. for the first time in florida among seniors he is up 51 over 47. you're mitt romney. the romney campaign. you look at the numbers. >> you say two things. >> bill: what do you say? >> first thing you say is i'm

skeptical. >> bill: about the poll. >> because if you look at the party distribution, all three polls, it's plus 9 democrat in two of them and plus 10 in one. and that is higher than the spread of partisan voting patterns in 2008. okay. one of the reasons for that is quinnipiac does not weight its polls it. it calls people up and say are you republican, democrat or independent. whatever people say, they write down and take the poll and they don't reweight it to -- >> bill: you think the polls are accurate? >> it is and quinnipiac has gone to great lengths to explain their methodology. it is accurate as we methodically do it. it imposes our own math cal estimates and we don't know. they're not -- we're not going to impose ourselves. so i would only say this. if you have a poll in any of the swing states that has a higher democrat to republican split than occurred in 2008, if you're

the obama campaign, i talked to them in chicago yesterday they don't believe it is 10 points in ohio. they believe they're up and comfortably up. maybe 5 but not 10. >> bill: the obama campaign. >> they don't believe it's 10 because they look at this and say -- we would love to see a 2008 turnout model all over the country. don't think they wouldn't but they're not banking on it. they can't count on it. they're anticipating something much closer to 2004 turnout modeling which was heavily based turnout on both sides. republicans and democrats and independents showed up. some bailed out of the race entirely. so what you see in all of those numbers, i'm not sure that magnitude is actually accurate. it will be reflected on election day. what it does tell you and for the romney campaign, this was the worst part of yesterday. it intensified the narrative that it is all slipping away and that your electoral path to victory is not only hard to see. it is quite literally statistically invisible at the moment. >> bill: in fact, scott pelley last night on cbs news said that

they, today, would give obama 255 electoral votes that includes ohio. not sure it includes florida. don't think it does but 255 which is damn close to 270. we're talking football, politics. airplane windows and everything else. >> and magnus. with major garrett this morning and you at 1-866-55-press. the "full court press" and we'll be right back. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >>only on current tv. dose of politics from a fresh perspective. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. >>only on current tv.

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live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 27 minutes now after the >> bill: so our good buddy and our -- we've adopted him as our own sports editor, dave zirin sports editor for the "nation" magazine will be joining us in the next segment. major garrett from "national journal" is in the studio as a "friend of bill." >> not formally adopted though. i haven't seen the paperwork. >> bill: or the check right? the contract? so out of these polls a lot of people are saying well, there are 40 days left and mitt romney's got the debates and with the debate, he can turn it around. you're on your way to denver. >> yes. >> bill: so can the debates make a big difference? >> they can. but i know the obama campaign feels that they are unlikely to make a big difference. >> bill: either way. >> either way. they felt the conventions were unlike likely to make a big

difference. they got more than they thought. a bump that was of some importance and durability. and fed the sort of september impressions of the campaign and sort of reset it in a way that was beyond their expectations. but what they studiously attempted to do all for the summer and during their convention was to lay the predicate for the debates so there couldn't be a breakout moment for mitt romney. he couldn't turn the tables on the president. and what they've created they believe is a narrative around mitt romney that no matter how impressive his performance, he still will be to a certain degree trapped within the narrative they've created around mitt romney. the republicans are deeply concerned this might be true. that no matter how effective mitt romney is in articulating his message or driving it home, he is still trapped in a narrative that works to his disadvantage. >> bill: at least in my memory, most presidential debates end up a draw. >> there is some elevation to of the challenger standing next to the president which puts you on a better footing but it is hard

to change the dynamic of a campaign. >> bill: we'll be back with dave zirin and major garrett. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." (vo) what is said here could decide the election. current tv presents coverage of the presidential debate. with unrivaled analysis and commentary. >> you're going to hear that used as a major talking point. (vo) the only network with real-time reaction straight from the campaigns and from viewers like you. >>now that's politically direct.

>> announcer: this is the "full court press," the "bill press show," live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: how about it. 33 minutes after the hour. this is the "full court press" on a thursday, september 27. an embarrassment of riches this hour. major garrett from the "national journal" in studio with us as a "friend of bill" and joining us now on our news line with the breaking news, it looks like a deal in the nfl lockout dave

zirin, sports editor for the "nation" magazine. we spoke monday or tuesday whenever it was. dave, welcome back. >> great to be here, bill. hello, major. >> hello. >> bill: so tell us about this deal. what's it say and how good is it? >> i mean it's a -- it's a slam dunk for the referees. it is unbelievable after being locked out after being denigrated and disrespected for many months. we've now arrived at this point where the nfl owners have basically not given them not just everything that they want but more than that. it took national condemnation, comments from the president of the united states across the political spectrum, 70,000 fans calling in the hour after monday night's game and miles and miles of petition signatures and the threat by the green bay packers to strike or take a knee before every play in their next game. i guess that's all it took to puncture the cocoon where the nfl owners live and say to them

gee, maybe it's not a good idea to not have professional referees when you can settle this for the cost of a 30-second super bowl ad. >> that and las vegas who was going to probably see diminished betting on these games because the pros looked at this and said we don't know how to factor the various things that we can factor because the referees have become a hugely disruptive part of the game. the nfl takes great pride and some degree of credit for creating this incredible betting atmosphere around its game. legal betting, atmosphere around its game. i'm sure that was a factor as well. >> let's talk about legal betting for a second. that one play in seattle which flipped the point spread cost people $250 million in vegas alone. on that one play! let alone all of the games, let alone all of the plays. when you create an unstable betting environment you are

messing with very dangerous forces that the nfl oftentimes does not like to discuss. >> bill: so what's driving -- >> i want to ask you this -- >> bill: is it vegas? >> i'm just saying it is part of the mix. it's part of the mix. what i'm curious about is it possible, ed is the most important lawyer in america this morning? >> it is extremely popular. >> he's a lawyer and he is one of the top referees in the game. one of the best known referees in the game as a san diego charger fan i've had my issues with that hockey league but he's a phenomenal referee and a lawyer and i'm sure he will look at the agreement closely. i'm sure it will be ratified based on everything they've said. but i think ed is like the lawyer of last resort. >> he's not the most important referee this morning. that would be lance easley, the person who made the incorrect call in the end zone on monday. for that was the referee decision which really did move

the boulder finally on this question. after weeks of stonewalling by roger goodell and the nfl ownership. we have to remember, i'm not just pulling this out of thin air, the nfl vice president ray anderson said in late august, no one ever bought a ticket to watch an nfl official to justify the lockout. that's now you're doing a heck of a job brownie. because people do watch games not for the officials but to see a competently officiated contest. there are expectations that a game will take a little longer than three hours and that you'll be able to actually believe the calls that are made. and that's something that was taken away from the league the last three weeks. >> bill: you know what surprised me is i heard this morning that they expect tonight's game, i forget who's playing tonight. >> baltimore and cleveland. >> bill: that the professional refs would be back for this game tonight. so you know, otherwise we have

heard, dave, it was going to take like another week, right before they could suit up and get back inside. they're not going to wait another week. >> no, they can't afford to wait because the thing that's been lurking behind all of this. you got the farce monday night. but the issue that's been lurking the last three weeks and you've seen some serious near miss is the idea of something horrible happening to one of the players in the realm of health and safety. and whether or not one could blame that when it eventually would happen on an overzealous player, on maybe just somebody getting their spikes caught in the turf, it would have been blamed on scab officials who were not able to police or manage the game. i mean the field has been described to me by one observer, i don't know if you guys ever watch the show but as deadwood in terms of there being any kind of justice or law with regards to what's been happening on the field of play. and they cannot afford to have

that happen because the nfl union, they've already been instructing their players to take notes of everything that they feel happens on the field in terms of their health and safety that could have been affected by a replacement official. >> bill: now, there were some pretty strong comments that came out of some of the players tweeting comments, about the owners and about the nfl. normally they would get fined for that kind of stuff right? >> yeah. normally they would be subject. >> bill: will they, in this case, do you think? >> no. i don't think they'll be fined at all. i think a player like t.j. lang of the packers might be fined because he also unleashed a stream of profanity directed at the nfl, roger goodell and the owners, they might be able to go behind that but as far as the basic free speech stuff that's been going on, i think the nfl even though in normal times they might fine or discipline players for this, they won't in this case because i think that there's a shame factor that they've proven this week they

can't get beyond. >> isn't there also a larger contigous context. the league has tried to, in the last couple of years elevate its concern publicly for player safety and the concussion issue is looming out there. but with -- you have players taking notes and describing it as deadwood or i've heard players describe it as oz or completely uncontrolled out there. issues of this safety and player safety would i think, be placed in a different context. the nfl, i think, over time, realized they were walking themselves into another environment possibly where their litigation problems down the road would be more intense. is that possible? >> absolutely! this is a litigious minefield he's going on right now. i have to always recheck but it is now over 3500 former players are suing the league. they are suing the league over 3500 former players. >> bill: over head injury issues?

>> the issue at play is they're saying the nfl knowingly knew that these kind of head injuries could lead to early onset dementia and put them in harm's way. this is -- represents the largest lawsuit in the history of professional sports. the nfl has gone out of their way in terms of their press releases, in terms of their actions, in terms of a $30 million donation to the national institute for health to study brain injuries. to say wait a minute! it is a message not just to the public but to the legal community and the judicial community that we strongly care about these issues and to have that while they're putting these clown officials on the field it just looks horrible and numerous legal observers said that. that it is like with the tobacco industry, it is very difficult to say wait, we care about these issues when your actions your present day actions speak otherwise. >> bill: i have to ask who's running interference there at

home, dave, with this call? >> i know that snap in the background. >> i feel that snap. >> you know that snap? >> father of three, i know that snap. [ laughter ] >> i've got a 4-year-old who's leaning into me saying what are you doing? [ laughter ] >> want to say hi to everybody jake? >> hi. >> bill: what's up, jake? >> there you go. >> bill: second 4-year-old we've had on the show this morning. >> three if you add me. [ laughter ] >> four if you add me. i'll jump on that, too. >> bill: does roger goodell survive? >> roger goodell i think he does survive but he now operates under a cloud, under a serious crisis of competence. this is his version of bud selig 1994 canceling the world series. >> bill: major, i have to say you were talking about the

forest of clowns, whatever, i thought dave had a great line when he said things could not have been worse with the replacement refs on the field. if you had dressed up sasha baron cohen in a black and white suit and turned him loose. it sort of was a bruno moment. >> it was very much a bruno moment. we're going to poke and product everybody and see how angry we can make them. >> the nfl knew it. they knew these people could not do this job. >> bill: they couldn't do the lingerie league. >> they couldn't do this job. >> the people who were lingerie ref refugees have been fired by the lingerie league in a self-serving press release the lingerie league said after viewing their officiating ability in the nfl they lack the professionalism to trulmatriculate in the glory that's in the football league. >> bill: okay, dave. thanks so much for chiming in this morning.

always great to have you on the program. >> thanks, bill. thanks major. >> bill: the nation sport editor dave zirin. edge of sports.com is where you follow him. edge of sports.com. we'll be back with major garrett. >> announcer: on your radio. on tv. the "bill press show." new on current tv. dose of politics from a fresh perspective. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. >>only on current tv.

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with twizzlers the twist you can't resist. >>i jump out of my skin at people when i'm upset. do you share the sense of outrage that they're doing this, this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>i think that's an understatement, eliot. u>> i'm not prone tot. why that is.

i think the mob learned from wall st., not vice versa. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 13 minutes before the top of the hour. major garrett we'll never cover all of the issues so if you want to read major's good work on

what's happening on the hill or at the white house covers both for "national journal," you can go to "national journal."com. or follow major on twitter at major at nj. is that right? >> yes. >> bill: major at nj. how many majors are there? >> 3,362 who are registered to vote. obama for america campaign. >> bill: they're on top of this. and by the way before we continue, we do have to take a moment out. we've been asked officially to apologize. we -- to apologize to the lingerie league for making fun of the lingerie league and those who used to work for the lingerie league. we apologize if we've insulted any of you because we have learned that one of our own numbers among those who used to work with the lingerie league cyprian bowlding -- >> wow! >> bill: we don't know whether

he was a player or an official or what his role was. >> this explains some of his attire by the way. this explains a lot. >> nice. >> you better apologize. >> bill: speak for himself on this issue? >> we'll do it. >> bill: i apologize to cyprian and others who might have been offended. major, let's talk about senate races a little bit. todd akin refusing to bow out. >> yes. >> bill: this week saying he doesn't care what karl rove says, he's in it to win it. >> doesn't care what mitch mcconnell says. >> bill: mitt romney. >> campaign advertisement or public statements about it. he's running also against the republican establishment and the republican party bosses. he's trying to tap into a sort of resentment within conservative circles and maybe those in missouri. >> bill: ultimate tea party protest. >> i'm up against all sorts of forces. his wife is his campaign's top advisor. his son is managing it. it is a shoestring budgetary

effort and yet -- and yet -- >> bill: is he kidding himself? >> the republican senatorial campaign committee through its executive director rob jess mer who was in charge of all allocations of money made it clear this week that it is not impossible they would step back into this race. >> bill: i knew it. >> if the polling data that they believe is close and indicative of something that might be reachable as far as a victory or defeating claire mccaskill the first term senator from missouri democrat, they will get back into this. >> bill: if he's within five points they'll get back in. >> the sense i have from democrats and republicans every time todd akin gets within 5%, the mccaskill campaign intensifies in suburban st. louis and suburban kansas city, the carpet bombing of legitimate rape and that blows the suburban vote out and makes it difficult for him to win. republicans are looking at the race differently. >> bill: two other senate

races of interest. sherrod brown in ohio has a lead of 50% to 40% over his -- >> josh mandle. >> bill: and in florida bill nelson has a lead of 53% to 39% over connie mack. those were two seats that republicans were hoping to pick up. >> republicans thought they might have a chance. they always knew it would be a long shot in florida. they believed if romney could win by three or four in florida that might have a lifting effect on connie mack -- third fourth -- >> bill: i think he's the third. >> but it's not going to happen. i've not talked to a republican in two weeks who believe's there's anything that will come out of florida that's positive for them in the senate race. they're now beginning to reluctantly resign themselves to the fact that sherrod brown won't be defeated in ohio. >> bill: so it looks like democrats hold on to the senate. >> the prospects of that are

better than they have been in the last two years. i think the senate is going to be 51-49 either way. if i had to bet right now 51-49, democratic. >> bill: is there a shot with obama doing better that democrats pick up their 25 seats they need to take control of the house? >> i do not see that. i really don't because as a proct kalamath matt cal -- as a practical mathematical matter -- there are 14 swing districts that are vacant, been made vacant by democrats who have moved on with their political lives. you need to hold those and take 25. california has not turned out as well as democrats thought. a place to harvest a lot of seats. redistricting is a part of that. not getting democrats qualified to get into the final showdown. illinois has not been as productive. democratic super pac pulled out of two congressional districts this week. new york is not harvesting as much for democrats. those are the three big states democrats thought they could pick up a great number of seats. so i do not see it. i think house republican losses

range from 5 to 12 on the house side net. >> bill: really? that few. >> yes. >> bill: i was at a roundtable with leader pelosi on friday and some reporters at the capitol and she said flat out if obama wins by 10 points, they take back the house. >> he's not going to win by 10 points. he didn't win by 10 points in 2008. he won by 7 points. yes, yes i completely agree with nancy pelosi. she's brilliant. if president obama wins by 10 points, they take back the house. >> bill: if he wins by 15 -- >> even more. and if i'm 7 feet tall -- i could dunk. the president isn't going to win by 10. no one in chicago -- david axelrod, they don't believe the president is going to get 53% of the popular vote which is what he got in 2008. maybe 51.5. >> bill: 3 to 4 point margin.

>> the fact is we don't know. >> bill: whatever you do major, don't open the airplane window. all right. the next time you're flying. do come back and see us again. >> of course. always a pleasure. >> bill: major garrett from the "national journal." i'll tell you what the president is up to today, on the road again. no surprise. we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >>and now to my point. that is a whole bunch of bunk! the powerful my steal an election but they cannot steal democracy.

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when you use lysol at home, you'll know you're a part of something bigger. for healthy tips and more, visit lysol.com/missionforhealth. [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey, how about it. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: arthur delaney from "huffington post" will be joining us in studio in the next hour. well, which of the battleground

states gets the big presidential visit today? it was ohio yesterday. today it is virginia. the president and the vice president get their daily briefing this morning. 9:30 right after the end of our show. of course he'll be watching until 9:00. at 10:00 leaves the white house on his way out to andrews air force base and down to virginia beach, virginia. where he will be delivering remarks this morning just about noon. at the farm bureau live in virginia beach virginia. and it is his only campaign event for the day. only public event for the day then turns around and heads back here to andrews air force base then back to the white house arriving back to the white house at 2:10 p.m. this afternoon. no briefing today because the president's out of town. jay carney will be gaggling with reporters on air force i. so the big polls showing president obama up 10 in ohio.

other big news, we'll tackle it all in the next hour.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] en tt>>v bilill:l: g gooooendt hdy. and welcome, welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv this thursday morning, september 27. so good to see you today. wherever you happen to be in this great land of ours. thank you so much for joining us as we take a look at the big stories of the day. and get your comments at 1-866-55-press. that's our toll free number. well, you've seen the latest polls and mittens says he's not

worried. he's not worried if all of those polls show him losing big time to president obama because mittens says that this early stage in the game, polls go up and polls go down. well, only two things wrong with that. it is not early anymore mitt. and two, all your polls are going down, down, down! as we'll see together here in the next hour. but first, we start out by getting the latest. today's current news update. lisa ferguson in los angeles. hi lisa. >> hey bill, good morning everyone. president obama is launching a two-minute long television ad. he is speaking directly to the camera and he tells americans if he could sit down at their kitchen table here's what he would say. >> obama: what's my plan. first we create a million new manufacturing jobs and help businesses double their exports. give tax breaks to companies that invest in america. not the to ship jobs overseas. >> other parts of the president's plan include cutting oil imports in half, training

new teachers and workers bringing down student loans and reducing the deficit. that ad is airing in seven key states. over the next month and a half, we can expect both campaigns to target unlikely voters. that is because early voting is already underway and early voters tend to be educated, informed motivated. basically, they already know who they're voting for. what's left are the undecided and unlikely voters and we can expect both campaigns to work hard to get those people to the polls. meanwhile, florida is trying to keep people away. the state's officially restarting its voter purge with less than six weeks to go until election day. florida stopped its effort earlier this year when its purge list was obviously inaccurate. now the "miami herald" is reporting florida wants 198 people taken off its voter rolls but even the new list is not accurate. the herald is quoting one man who already sent in proof of

citizenship but is still on the purge list and about 58% of those people are minorities. back with more. stay with us. we have a big, big hour and the i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... are they contagious? i don't think so. [ male announcer ] contract the rainbow! taste the rainbow!

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 40 days to go until election day november 6 but early voting starts as early as next week. good morning everybody! what do you say? it is the "full court press." here we go. on this thursday, september 27. booming to you live all the way across this great land of ours from our studio on capitol hill in washington, d.c.

and coming out to you on your local progressive talk radio station and on current tv. good to you have with us whether you're listening or watching, don't forget. enrich and expand your listening, viewing experience by going to billpressshow.com and joining the chat room. you can go to current.com follow the click join the chat room. you're connected with your "full court pressers" from all across the land. and you guys can get into the issues, talk about the issues, debate the issues while we're talking about them here on the air. and also most, most importantly if you just moved you're a college student. just came home. you just took a new job or whatever for whatever reason you're not registered to vote, you haven't bothered to do so. now is the time. you've got to do it within the next week or so in most states. we've made it easy for you. go to our web site at billpressshow.com. you'll see a little box, rock

the vote. click on it. we'll take you right to find out what state you live in and either register you on the spot or provide the form that you need and we'll e-mail it to the registrar of voters or the secretary of state in your home state and you'll be signed up to vote in this most important presidential election. of 2012. so check that out. thank you again for being with us. joining our team here, the whole team peter ogborn and dan henning and cyprian bowlding, hello, guys. >> hey hey. >> good morning. >> bill: everything hot here, right? >> yes indeed. >> bill: and we -- peter -- >> hi. >> bill: i am -- oh, i know what i wanted to play the kids. the spot about the -- >> oh, yes. >> bill: yeah. out in minnesota there is a new campaign on childhood obesity. and the way they're attacking

childhood obesity is suggesting that the people responsible for kids being overweight are their parents. how many times have you heard conversations like this one. >> you know my dad can eat three huge bacon cheeseburgers this big? >> for my dad that's a snack. >> he also ate a mountain of french fries. >> my dad can eat a mountain of french fries. >> my dad can eat three buckets of fried chicken. >> my dad can eat chicken mcnuggets. >> my dad can eat 500 corn dogs. >> one day i will be able to eat twice that. >> bill: they're blaming the parents for the kids being overweight. >> i'm kind of hungry for 500 corn dogs. >> i want that quadruple cheeseburger. >> bill: i think they've got a point. >> it is 100% true. >> bill: parents pig out, the kids are going to pig out. not in all cases but --

>> no, not in all cases -- >> bill: kids who see i don't want to look like that when i grow up. too many i'm afraid. they may not take a look. they see what they're eating. i have to keep up with daddy or mommy. >> it is not even a matter of appearance. if mommy and daddy are fat the kids don't see mommy and daddy say i'm supposed to be that fat. if you're sitting down to dinner and you're eating until you make yourself sick, that's how the kids learn to eat. then they'll carry that with them forever. >> bill: same thing with smoking and drinking. >> everything else. >> bill: other bad habits, yeah. why didn't that work with mitt romney? his father gave away 12 years of his tax returns. now, why didn't mitt see that and say yes daddy that's the way it ought to be done? >> good point. >> bill: it doesn't always work. effective campaign. arthur delaney our good friend from "huffington post" will be in a little bit later to talk about things that congress did not accomplish in their session

this year or last year. and we'll bring you all of the latest on the 2012 national polls and mitt romney's response. but first... >> this is the "full court press." >> other headlines to chat about on this thursday. a couple of nfl coaches are surely happy that the union officials are coming back this weekend but not before shelling out some major cash for illegal contact with the scab refs last weekend. patriots coach bill belichick and kyle shanahan were fined $50,000 and $25,000 respectively for inappropriate contact with the replacement refs. >> bill: they were pushing them. >> bill belichick grabbed one refs arms and shanahan shoved them in the tunnel. >> a replacement ref or not you can't do that. >> j.k. rowling, known for her harry potter books is out with her first book for adults. it is out in stores today called the casual vacancy but this may be the only one for the older

set for now. the british author telling the bbs that her next book will be for kids again. could be similar to harry potter as in the same universe but she made it clear harry's story is done. >> bill: not another harry potter. >> could be related. could be in the same universe but not with harry. david blaine, the magician and illusionist is risking electrocution for his next stunt. daily mail reporting he'll stand grounded on a metal platform wearing a mesh suit with a one million vote electric charge. shooting through his body for 72 hours in new york city. any disruption in that ground will instantly stop his heart. they will stream that event on the internet. >> bill: oh, great. good. what's the point? >> i can't wait to see that, man. he might get crispy fried. >> bill: what's the point? >> it is a magic trip. he's going to stand and get electrocuted and not die is the

point. >> bill: all right. gee, i got it. >> david blaine. it is what he does. >> i didn't know he was still a thing. >> trying to be. >> bill: the landscape the political landscape rather one-sided and a little tilted left here this morning. talked a little bit about the polls yesterday but now more numbers have come out in the latest quinnipiac poll conducted by quinnipiac university for cbs news and "the new york times." showing some really dramatic leads for president obama across the board in the swing states. three in particular. in ohio, president obama the key of all of the swing states, right? no republican -- i'm sure you've heard this. i want to repeat it. no republican candidate for president has won the presidency without winning ohio ever, ever, ever. so it's critical for mitt

romney. president obama is up in ohio today 53 to 43 points. president obama is up in florida, another key swing state, 53 to 44 points. president obama is up in pennsylvania 54 to 42 points. so 10 in ohio. 9 in florida. 12 in pennsylvania. by the way this is not part of "the new york times" poll. but i just happened to see this morning in california more leccorral votes than any other state. president obama is up 57 to 35. a 22--point advantage in california. back to the cbs poll. in ohio, president obama leads among key constituency, leads among women by 25 points. so don't tell me paul ryan's good for the republican ticket, right? 25 points.

that puts -- that means that the issue of contraception the issue of abortion, the issue of healthcare for women all identify with mitt romney, wanting to do away with them or ban them or whatever, hurting mitt romney significantly among women and helping president obama. among women -- among women in pennsylvania, president obama up 21 points. in florida among senior citizens 60% of floridians are on social security. and medicare. among seniors in florida president obama is up 51 to 47. not as big a lead but a 4-point lead. why? because of paul ryan and mitt romney's stand on medicare. it's not selling. they said they wanted this debate on medicare. they got it and they're losing it. people know that paul ryan and mitt romney would do away with

medicare and replace it with voucher care. and when you add it all up, cbs and "the new york times" say that at this point today with 40 days to go, president obama has 255 electoral votes. figure that. 255 electoral votes. he needs 270 to win. so he's within just a few inches there. just within touching distance of getting up to 270. what's mitt romney say about the whole thing? mitt romney says oh, no, no big deal. i'm not concerned at all. >> romney: well, i'm very pleased with some polls, less so with other polls but frankly at this early stage polls go up, polls go down. >> bill: first of all it's not that early. 40 days left. and two all the polls, all the polls show him going down, down, down. but look i've been in that

position. i've been in that position. i've been in campaigns where the polls show you ahead and you say this -- what do you say? this shows that people get it. our message is getting through. and we're on the right track and we're going to win when the polls are against you. you always say what mitt romney said. you either say polls go up and polls go down or you say polls don't matter. or this poll -- you can't trust this poll because the sample wasn't right or something like that which is what the romney people are trying to sell today. about this poll. the quinnipiac poll has been a highly respected poll for a long time. mitt romney on the campaign trail -- maybe one of the reasons why he's not doing better is people still can't quite get what mitt romney is all about who he is, what he stands for. that was evidenced again yesterday in ohio when he was talking about tax cuts. now, his big thing right is obama's going to raise taxes i'm going to cut taxes. i'm going to cut taxes for

everybody in this country. that's what mitt romney has been saying so far. you elected me. you're going to pay lower less in taxes. lower taxes. and then yesterday he seemed to say well, maybe not. >> romney: so our individual income taxes are ones i want to reform, make them simpler. bring the rates down. by the way don't be expecting a huge cut in taxes because i'm going to issue exemptions. >> bill: so don't expect a cut in taxes. so what he's saying is -- this is just so confusing. the guy is a horrible candidate. it is so confusing because he's saying the romney plan, the romney/ryan plan cuts the top tax rate from 35% which it is under the bush tax cut for the wealthy, 35 down to -- and romney would cut it and ryan would cut it further from 35 down to 25, lower it down to 25%. but then romney says yeah, but

you're still going to pay a lot more in taxes. you're not going to get a big tax cut because at the same time i'm going to make up for the lost revenue by closing tax loopholes. now, he doesn't tell us what loopholes he's going to get rid of. he's going to get rid of charitable deductions. is he going to get rid of the home mortgage deduction. we don't really know. he hasn't said. so that's very, very murky. how much money would be gained by that? he hasn't said either. he's saying well, if you thought i was for tax cuts, you're not going to get a tax cut. it will wash out in the end. this leaves the whole thing very fuzzy. hard for romney. you know what? i think people are learning about mitt romney that the truth about mitt romney is what he said way back jokingly, this tape just surfaced yesterday thanks to "buzzfeed." this goes back jokingly to something that mitt romney said

when he was governor of massachusetts and he was speaking at a st. patrick's daybreak fast. a tradition where catholic church gets politicians and labor leaders together for a st. patrick's day breakfast and mitt romney closed with this little joke maybe? >> romney: one last thought, you guys, when i was a boy when i was a boy i used to think that becoming rich and becoming famous would make me happy. boy, was i right. thank you. >> bill: so being rich and being famous is sort of what it's all about for mitt romney. doesn't that say a lot? about his values? who he is, who he likes to hang out with? and who he cares about and who he would fight for? yeah. i'm rich and famous. and i'm all for the rich and famous. anybody else?

eh, not so much. so the latest polls not time for democrats to get cocky. not at all. but certainly time for republicans to worry that they picked the wrong guy, don't you think? let's talk about it. 1-866-55-press. >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >>and now to my point. that is a whole bunch of bunk! the powerful my steal an election but they cannot steal democracy.

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